Changes & Challenges

My entire career has been spent in restaurant marketing – even during and before college, I worked in restaurants. It is an industry that I know well , am passionate about and also one that I am comfortable in. The experiences I had before college allowed me to accelerate my professional career and catch up to my peers, despite having a 6 year gap between high school and college. In a way, the restaurant industry is home – I am confident in my ability and my knowledge and I have been able to take this into a variety of different marketing roles and restaurant settings – family dining, restaurant and bar, casual dining and fast casual. Although each of these have their unique challenges, I have always been able to transfer my experience in one to the next as I have grown in my career.

More than once I’ve toyed with the idea of leaving the restaurant industry, but my background often made it difficult to get past the gatekeepers of other industries. My resume is pretty set in the restaurant space and I’ve been fortunate to live in a city that serves as home base for multiple restaurant brands. I’ve always known that I wanted more and that I had a strong desire to expand beyond food. I just haven’t found an opportunity that fit what I was looking for and that was open to working with me as I took that big leap.

But, in less than two weeks I am taking all of that experience and background and entering completely new industry, and in some way a new field. I am equal parts excited and terrified.

I am excited to learn and to grow, but also to be able to test my comfort level and jump out of the zone that’s been my bread and butter. The opportunity to meet a completely new group of people that will help mentor and mold my future is also beyond exciting. There is so much to learn and I am looking forward to seeing what I can do and how I can bring my experience and knowledge to a new team.

But, it is terrifying. Can I be successful in an area outside restaurant marketing? Will I be able to transition out of the industry that has been my entire world for so long? Can this old dog learn new tricks? Can I do it?

I suppose those are all more self-doubts than fears, but one often seeps into the other. As I head into my final few days in my current position, I am working to silence the fears and the doubts by focusing on the exciting changes that lie ahead. It’s easy to let your fear dominate my inner monologues, but thankfully the excitement of a new challenge is helping to drown out the voices of doubt.

One thing I know for sure is that this opportunity is coming at a major time of transition in my life as our family grows and that is also a little bit scary. But for us and me, the timing is also perfect because I am already in a mindset that is ready to embrace the change and the challenge.